Mandrel device for packing a container with a void in the bottom closure



y 1962 F. J. ERWIN, JR, ETA]. 3,031,821

MANDREL DEVICE FOR PACKING A CONTAINER WITH A VOID IN THE BOTTOM CLOSURE Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 [00/5 2 Anew/v y 1, 1962 F. J. ERWIN, JR., ETAL 3,031,821

MANDREL DEVICE FOR PACKING A CONTAINER WITH A VOID IN THE BOTTOM CLOSURE Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fear J. [PW/A .TR.

y 1962 F. J. ERWIN JR, ETA]. 3,031,821

MANDREL DEVICE FOR IQACKING A CONTAINER WITH A vow IN THE BOTTOM CLOSURE Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 n v P 2 fi 7 1 /J 33 FIG.6

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MANDREL DEVICE FOR I5ACKING A CONTAINER WITH A vow IN THE BOTTOM CLOSURE Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 nite rates The invention pertains broadly to a mandrel device and method of packing a container having a substantial void in the bottom closure. More specifically it relates to the method of packing, in a container of the type disclosed in .co-pending application of- Louis P. Larson, Serial Number 770,360, now US. Patent No. 3,000,496 entitled Recessed Bottom Container filed October 29, 1958, an oriented self-supporting arrangement of basically tetrahedronal shaped articles whereby as the said articles are dropped into the container, they are deflected and guided into oriented position by means of the mandrel device and retained in position until the packing operation is complete. Thereupon the mandrel is Withdrawn from the void in the container, the articles remaining in co-operative self-supporting bridging relation over the void in the container bottom.

The mandrel is made of essentially rigid material such as wood, metal, plastic or other suitable material and comprises a base plate, means for retaining the container in position and an upwardly spaced pyramidal portion comprising a plurality of essentially triangular faces.

In order to advantageously utilize the unique properties of the Recessed Bottom Container described in the co-pending application Serial No. 770,360, the container is positioned over the mandrel with the upwardly protruding pyramid of the mandrel positioned in the void.

and the upstanding walls or collar of the mandrel encircling the bottom margin of the container. The triangular deflecting faces of the mandrel pyramid are contiguous with the inner faces of the bottom panels of the container, so that a tetrahedronal article dropped into the container is deflected by said triangular faces and falls into position, resting on a bottom panels of the bottom closure and in contacting relation to the container walls.

In carrying out the process the container is placed on the mandrel with the bottom panels in alignment with the faces of the pyramid portion of the mandrel. The mandrel with the container is revolved in a horizontal plane, so that the tetrahedronal articles dropped in succession from a fixed source will in turn attain positions overlying each bottom panel of the internal flange and the respective aligned contiguous triangular faces of the mandrel. A second layer of tetrahedronal articles is dropped successively with the individual tetrahedronal articles falling into place between the first layer articles and with a .bottom edge resting on the abutting marginal edges of the internal fiange bottom panels and the contiguous edge portions of the mandrel triangular faces.

A third layer of tetrahedronal articles is then placed in the container overlying the beforementioned first and second layers of articles with the respective tetrahedronal articles having an outer horizontal edge in contacting relation with a container side wall and an inner vertical edge centrally located in the container essentially overlying the apex of the central protruding portion of the mandrel or essentially adjacent the vertical axis of the container.

The abutting relation of the articles about-the central axis of the container provides a cooperative bridged relation of the articles over the void in the container bottom, so that the packed container may be removed from the amt 'ice

article supporting mandrel and the articles remain in the specific orientation within the container.

The cooperation of a mandrel device and a partially open bottom container whereby the mandrel is used only during the packing operation is a unique concept in the field of packaging and satisfies a need for increased economy in permitting the usage of a container constructed from the minimum amount of fibreboard or other suitable bendable material, that is commensurate with the strength and utility requirements.

It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a mandrel device to be used in cooperation with a container having a partial bottom closure with a substantial void located therein.

An important object is to provide a mandrel device positioned in a void in a container bottom so that articles being dropped into the container are deflected into an oriented arrangement.

Another important object is to provide a mandrel device with a container in cooperative relation therewith, the mandrel having araised pyramidal central portion positioned in a void in the container bottom and having an upper face contiguous with the upper face of the container partial bottom closure so that the mandrel device will support and retain in position articles dropped in the container until an orderly arrangement of articles is complete whereby the container may be removed from the mandrel and the articles therein are in a self supporting bridgedrelation over the container bottom void.

Another object is to provide a mandrel device used for filling a container having a substantial void in the bottom closure, the mandrel having a base portion retaining the container, a central raised pyramidal portion spaced from the base portion, the spacing means adapted to support at least in part, the container partial bottom closure, the raised pyramidal portion completing the bottom closure during the operation of packing the container.

A still further object is to provide a method of packing a container having a substantial void in the bottom closure whereby a mandrel element positioned in the void deflects articles dropped into the container into an oriented arrangement, the articles being self supporting in a bridged relation over the void in the container bottom upon completion of the packing operation and withdrawal from the mandrel.

Otherobjects and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a full and complete understanding of the construction of the mandrel and the method of filling the container. The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and form a part of the specification. Like numerals and symbols therein appearing refer to like parts wherever they occur.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the loading mandrel.

FIG. 2 is an inverted perspective view of a mandrel with a container in position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the interior of a container positioned on the mandrel.

FIG. 4 is across sectional view through lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing a tetrahedronal article being deflected into position in the container and other such articles previously positioned forming a bottom layer in the container.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a tetrahedronal article.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a later stage of the filling operation, wherein a second layer of articles is being deflected into position and retained in the container.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the completed arrangement of the second layers of articles in the container.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the completed final stage of loading the container.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an inverted container with the completed arrangement of tetrahedronal articles therein, the filled container having been withdrawn from the mandrel.

The mandrel device A, illustrated in FIG. 1, comprises a plurality of triangular deflecting faces 20' connected together at the edges '21 into an upstanding pyramidal element terminated at the apex 22,. A bolt receiving hole 23 may be located at the apex 22 to permit the mounting of the mandrel device on a conventional machine adapted to form and fill tetrahedronal containers C, FIG. for placement in a master container. Of course, alternative means for attaching the mandrel to said machine may be used without effect on the prescribed function.

The base edge 24- of the pyramidal element is offset to form a stepped formation between the triangular faces 2% and the supporting legs 25. The supporting legs have at t least an upper portion 26 adapted to support the bottom closure panels of the container as hereinafter described.

The supporting legs 25 are connected at their lower extremity to the mandrel base plate 27 in a spaced relation to the outer margin 27 of the base plate. The outer margin of the base plate 27 is defined by an upstanding collar 28 which is terminated at the upper edge by a flared rim 29 to facilitate insertion of the master container B in the mandrel device A, as shown in FIGURE 3.

The mandrel device is rotatably mounted on a con ventional tetrahedronal package filling and loading machine, which requires no special adaptation other than provision for the mandrel mounting bolt.

In the operation of packing, the master container B is positioned in the mandrel as .illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. In FIG. 2 the container B and mandrel A are inverted to more clearly show the nested relationship of these structures while FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of the container illustrating the continuity of the triangular faces of the mandrel and the container partial bottom closure panels 31. The container bottom edges 30 resting on the mandrel base plate 27 and with the collar 28 firmly retainingsaid container B in position. In this position the supporting legs conform at least in part to the angularly disposed partial bottom closure panels 31 of the container B and thereby lend support thereto. Thus the free end edge 32 of the container partial bottom closure 31 are in a closely aligned relation with the pyramidal element base edges 24 of the mandrel A and the triangular faces 29 of the mandrel are contiguous with the respective upper faces .of the container partial bottom closure panels 31. This cooperative relation of the mandrel A and the master container B is then adapted to receive and deflect into prescribed positions the tetrahedronal articles C, illustrated in FIG. 5, during the loading operation.

In FIGURE 4 a stage of the loading operation is illustrated. It is evident that as an article C is forcibly dropped on a triangular face 24 of the mandrel A, it is deflected into position on the respective bottom closure panel 31 in contacting relation with a container side Wall 33 and partially supported by a mandrel triangular face 20. As the mandrel A is rotated by the filling and loading machine, the container is brought into position whereby the tetrahedronal articles C as they are successively dropped are deflected into positions overlying each of the bottom closure panels 31.

In a similarmanner the second layer of articles C, are positioned in the master container B by the rotation of the mandrel A and the dropping of said articles in succession into positions intervening the articles C in the bottom layer as illustrated in FIG. 6. The second layer of tetrahedronal articles substantially occupy the void bev tween the articles in the first positioned layer and have an edge resting on the angularly disposed partial bottom closure of the container and in part on the connected edges 21 of the triangular faces of the pyramidal element 34, thus forming a compact intermeshed arrangement. During this stage of the packing operation the compact, intermmhed orientation of the articles is partly supported by the pyramidal element 34 of the mandrel A composed of the triangular faces 20. This support prevents dislodgement of the articles C positioned in the master container B as each successive article is forcibly dropped into the container. FIG. 7 illustrates the completed arrangement of the second layer of tetrahedronal articles C.

The mandrel A likewise retains the articles C in the orderly arrangement as the third layer of said articles is positioned in the master container B with the inner edge of said articles in a cooperative abutting relationship essentially overlying the apical portion 22 of the pyramidal element 24 of the mandrel A. Thus the articles C are in a compact orientation illustrated in FIG. 8, bridging over the void in the container bottom in which the pyramidal element 34 of the mandrel A is positioned.

In FIG. 9 which is an inverted view, it may be seen that after the master container B filled with tetrahedronal articles C is withdrawn from the mandrel A, the orderly arrangement of tetrahedronal articles cooperatively bridges over the void in the container bottom and is self supporting independent of the mandrel device A. The mandrel device A served the necessary function of deflecting and supporting the articles in the container during the operation of loading the master container B but once the final article, the keystone, in the arched arrangement is inserted in the container, the mandrel A has completed its function.

It is to be understood that the embodiment herein described is illustrative and not restrictive, and it is also to be understood that the invention may be suspectible of embodiments in other modified forms, and that all such modifications which are similar to and equivalent hereto come equally within the scope of the claims next appearing.

What we claim is: I

l. A mandrel device having a base plate horizontally disposed with an exterior polygonal margin, upstanding walls about said exterior margin terminated by an upper edge outwardly flared, an upwardly protruding deflecting and retaining element comprised of essentially triangular exterior faces having connected together side edges and a base edge horizontally disposed, said element upwardly spaced from the base plate, and element supporting legs having a reduced'width in comparison to the base edge of the triangular faces, the triangular faces outwardly oifset from the supporting legs, the supporting legs angularly disposed and attached to the base plate and inwardly spaced from the upstanding walls; the mandrel device adapted to position, in part, and retain in position, articles being loaded in a partial bottom container during the interval of loading said container.

2. A mandrel in cooperation with a container, the mandrel having a protruding pyramidal element comprised of connected together triangular faces and having protruding bottom edges, a base plate and an upstanding retaining element attached to the base plate to receive the lower marginal portions of the container, the container having upstanding side walls and a partial bottom closure inwardly and angularly disposed and having free end edges defining a void in the container bottom, the pyramidal element bottom edges abutting the container partial bottom closure free end edges and the triangular faces being substantially contiguous with the upper face of said bottom closure; whereby, the mandrel element forms, in part, a bottom closure for the container during the operation of packing the container.

3. The mandrel in cooperation with a container claimed and described in claim 2, wherein, the pyramidal element is spaced from the base plate by supporting legs attached to the base plate and spaced interiorly from the outer perimeter thereof, the retaining element attachment to the base plate being exterior and spaced from the supporting legs, the base plate portion intervening the supporting legs and the retaining element supporting the container bottom edges, the pyramidal element having a base edge in stepped relation to the supporting legs and the free end edges of the container partial bottom closure in closely aligned relation to the pyramidal element base edge.

4. A mandrel device for packing an orderly arrangement of articles in a container having a partial closure, the mandrel having means for supporting and retaining the container thereon and article deflecting and supporting.

means, said deflecting and supporting means comprising a pyramidal element having lateral deflecting faces, said faces being in contiguous substantially linear relation with the container partial closure during the packing operation.

5. The mandrel device as defined in claim 4-, wherein the pyramidal element is in spaced relation to the container supporting and retaining means and includes a base edge adapted to mutual edgewise abutment with the container partial closure, the mandrel element forming, in part, a bottom closure for the container.

6. The mandrel device as defined in claim 4, wherein the deflecting faces are planar and substantially triangular in configuration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,631,005 Breckon May 31, 1927 1,919,963 Smith July 25, 1933 2,033,504 Anderson Mar. 10, 1936 2,908,125 Iarund Oct. 13, 1959 2,911,775 Schwebs Nov. 10, 1959 

